Canelo - Mayweather Fight One of Biggest Sports Events Barely Covered in Media

[url]http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/09/12/221848471/money-and-canelo-punch-it-for-black-and-latino-fans[/url]

"Ex-jock talking heads aside, the nation's sports pages remain overwhelmingly white. That's probably why you're only vaguely aware that for many of us, tomorrow night is the one of the biggest sporting events of the year.

On Saturday night, boxing's biggest star, Floyd Mayweather Jr., will meet unbeaten Mexican sensation Saul "Canelo" Alvarez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the junior middleweight championship of the world. The main event will take place well after most children have gone to bed, and only be available to households that pay $60 for the Pay Per View ($70 for HD). It will be an easy decision for many, in part because the card also features Danny Garcia of Philadelphia facing Argentine noqueador Lucas Matthysse in the second-most anticipated fight of the year.

Hype aside, Saturday's fight is unique among American sporting events in that the majority of those watching on fight night, whether in person or via Pay Per View, will be minorities, specifically African-Americans or Hispanics. Many expect a virtual shutdown in Mexico, where only the country's beloved national soccer team rivals Canelo in popular appeal. Yet one wouldn't know it by perusing any of this nation's largest sports outlets, which have covered the fight sporadically, if at all.

While Mayweather-Alvarez will be the primary topic of discussion in many communities this week, the folks at the water cooler aren't the ones that most marketers covet, save those that make beer and power tools. But the fight is rife with storylines for those interested in issues of race and class, from the phenomenal box office appeal of Mayweather's "Money" persona, to Mexico's immense and complex adoration of Canelo, whose name is a nod to his unlikely ginger locks and freckled visage.

When Mayweather and Alvarez came to Washington this summer as part of their blockbuster press tour, the line stretched around the Howard Theater for blocks, and the crowd inside crackled with electricity and the screams of rival fan bases. The scene was repeated across North America, as fans devoted whole days to just catching a glimpse of the fighters at a press conference. It is hard to imagine Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer drawing a similar reaction anywhere in the U.S., but tennis is still dutifully accorded prominence at least four fortnights a year. Meanwhile, most mainstream outlets only take note of boxing long enough to pronounce it dead, a stance so unimaginative it was worn out before Muhammad Ali entered the prizefighting ring."